3 Skills Every Startup Founder Needs to Learn for a Productive 2017

February 17, 2017

10:30 am

0 Shares

Founding and growing a successful company can be extremely difficult. It is commendable that new startup entrepreneurs have already charted out their journey towards this goal.

Unlike owners of established organizations, startup entrepreneurs are required to wear multiple hats and play the roles of project manager, sales executive, web development expert, as well as marketing executive.

According to a recent report by Deloitte, 2017 will be the most disruptive year in the business arena, which means it will become even tougher for start-up companies to survive the ever-growing competition. By learning new skills, however, startup entrepreneurs can create a strong foothold in their industry.

The obvious question that comes next is, what are the skills that startup entrepreneurs need to reach new heights in 2017? Let’s explore:

Statistical Data Analysis

Statistical data analysis helps entrepreneurs predict future trends and design strategies to achieve goals faster. Knowledge of this vital skill allows them to identify the relationship between variables that help them measure their marketing efforts, customer engagement, and other parameters.

Statistical data analysis is important as it helps businesses stay updated with the latest marketing dynamics, analyze customer behavior, and make decisions. With the advent of various analytics tools, more information (about customers) is available. But, this information is worthless if you cannot predict upcoming trends and identify potential risks. Analysis of statistical data has become easier with the availability of advanced tools such as SPSS, QlikSense, MaxStat, Stata, and others.

Web Development and Coding

One of the easiest ways to harness the latest technologies to connect with customers or end users for startup entrepreneurs is by using Web development and coding.

It is impossible for businesses to survive in the modern digital era without a user-friendly business website. Through your website, you can not only showcase your products and services to the world, but also entice customers to perform desired actions, such as buy them.

However, having a website is not enough; you need to make sure it is in sync with customer preferences. By using proper Web development techniques, you can ensure your customers can access your website across various devices. Further, by implementing the right coding language, you can warrant the website performs at its best, even without the support of a professional developer.

Statistics show that the smartphone and tablet Internet consumption increased by 78 percent and 30 percent respectively by December 2013 and December 2015. Moreover, one-third of all ecommerce purchases during the 2015 holiday season were made using a smartphone. This clearly means that websites must perform well across devices.

Learning the basics of coding and web development can help entrepreneurs make minor modifications whenever required and take control of any situation, without depending on programmers. You don’t need to master all languages, but having a grasp over the basic ones like HTML and CSS, and undergoing training to learn some popular frameworks will help you greatly.

Online Marketing

Online marketing is the umbrella term for techniques that help businesses reach online audiences and improve ROI. It is often thought to be synonymous with SEO (search engine optimization), but there’s a lot more to it.

According to Global Web Index, 87 percent Internet users have smartphones. Moreover, almost nine mobile users are added to this number every moment; and because we have already crossed the mobile tipping point, online marketing has taken a different shape. This means startup entrepreneurs need to use new marketing channels to reach out to and engage the target audience.

A few core areas where startup entrepreneurs need to focus for a productive 2017:

Email Marketing – Through email marketing, you can build an effective sales channel and skyrocket your sales figures. Startup entrepreneurs need to understand their customers, analyze their (online) behaviors and then write emails that get clicked. In fact, almost 54 percent marketers say, increasing the engagement rate is their top priority when it comes to email marketing, according to Ascend2.

Social Media Marketing – Online marketing is incomplete without social media marketing. This is because almost one third of the world uses social networks regularly. Social media helps businesses engage the target audience, drive traffic and improve their branding. This is why 92 percent of marketers agree that social media is important to their business.

Content Marketing – Storytelling is the best way to engage customers and this is best done by creating compelling content. For most startup entrepreneurs, content marketing means writing blogs and articles only. Content, however, can take several forms such as video, infographics, whitepapers, and more. Content marketing is powerful and effective to the extent that B2B marketers allocate 28 percent of their marketing budget towards content marketing, according to Content Marketing Institute.

Conclusion

Financial management and effective communication will always top the priority list for startup entrepreneurs. But, by learning a few more essential skills, they can exercise control over various business processes and ensure their goals are achieved successfully.